Modular housing output system

ABSTRACT

Provided is a modular housing output system provided for conducting electronic signals out of a housing by electric contacts. The modular housing output system boasts a particularly large panoply of variants as a result of the modular use of different housing output ports. Housing output ports providing very different connection possibilities can be connected to the housing via a uniform interface.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention is based on a modular housing outlet system.

Housing outlets of this kind are required in order to carry signals andcurrents out of housings. Said housings can be an extremely wide varietyof housings or devices which are intended to be provided with aconnection.

Different requirements are made of housing outlets depending on thehousing and application. For example, there are housings on which aplug-type connector is provided as the housing outlet. A mating plug canbe connected to the housing by means of the plug-type connector andsignals and currents can be relayed out of the housing.

Different types of plug-type connectors are used depending on the typesof housing, signals and currents and also application. The choice ofhigh-pole or low-pole plug-type connectors, round plug-type connectorsor rectangular plug-type connectors, with a screw closure,bayonet-fitting closure or latching closure, depends on the respectiveapplication, the housing or else the user requirements in this case.

In another application, a cable which serves as a housing outlet isrouted out of the housing. In this case, the cable is connected tofurther components in the housing and is routed through the housingwall. A seal is generally provided at the bushing in order to preventthe ingress of environmental influences.

However, the solutions for housing outlets known from the prior art havedisadvantages which arise substantially due to the inflexible usabilityof the outlets. The entire housing has to be prepared and configureddifferently depending on the application.

Routing a cable through the housing wall requires a housing outlet otherthan a plug-type connector which is incorporated into the housing wall.Depending on the size of the plug-type connector used, the opening inthe housing has to be of different dimensions and different fasteningmeans have to be provided.

In addition, different connection options have to be provided within thehousing for each type of housing outlet, be it a plug-type connector ora cable. Therefore, different components also have to be installed andkept available in the housing for different housing outlets.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The object of the invention is to present a housing outlet which can beused in a variable manner for different applications. In this case, asfew different parts as possible should have to be kept available inorder to provide as large a range of different outlet variants aspossible.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a modular housing outlet system, comprising ahousing with an outlet opening, a printed circuit card and a housingoutlet port. In this case, the outlet opening is provided in a side wallof the housing in order to allow access to the housing interior.

The printed circuit card is provided in the housing interior andfastened in the housing. In this case, the printed circuit card can befastened in the housing by a locking connection, screw connection,adhesive bonding connection or clamping connection. Other fasteningoptions could also be realized here.

At least one bore is provided in the printed circuit card, wherein thebore is in the form of a press-in zone for press-in contacts. In thiscase, the press-in zone is electrically conductively connected toelectrical lines on the printed circuit card. The printed circuit cardexpediently has a large number of press-in zones for the connection ofelectrical contacts.

The printed circuit card is expediently arranged in the housing suchthat access to the press-in zones on the printed circuit card ispossible through the outlet opening in the housing. This allows press-incontacts to be inserted into the press-in zones without the housinghaving to be opened.

At least one electrical contact is provided in the housing outlet port.In this case, the electrical contact is held in the housing outlet portin a captive manner. This can be realized, for example, by correspondinglocking of the electrical contact in the housing outlet port. As analternative, the housing outlet port, comprising a polymer, can also beinjection-molded or cast around the at least one electrical contact inorder to produce a unipartite housing outlet port.

The housing outlet port has a housing connection side and a cable outletside. In this case, the housing outlet port is of substantiallycylindrical design, wherein the housing connection side and the cableoutlet side are located at the opposite ends of the cylindrical body.

In this case, the device connection side of the device output port isformed so as to correspond to the outlet opening in the housing. Thisallows the device outlet port to be connected to the housing. In thiscase, latching means which likewise correspond and can be locked to oneanother are expediently provided on the device connection side and atthe outlet opening.

An interlocking configuration of the device connection side and theoutlet opening prevent rotation in relation to one another.

The at least one electrical contact which is held in the housing outletport passes through the housing outlet port from the device connectionside as far as the cable outlet side. In this case, the at least oneelectrical contact is designed in such a way that it forms at least onepress-in region. The press-in region is provided on the deviceconnection side of the device outlet port and protrudes out of thedevice outlet port.

The modular housing outlet system is provided in such a way that thelarge number of press-in zones which are provided on the printed circuitcard are accessible through the outlet opening. By virtue of insertionof the housing outlet port, the press-in regions of the electricalcontacts make contact with the press-in zones on the printed circuitcard. At the same time, the housing connection side of the housingoutlet port locks in the outlet opening.

During the contact-making operation, contact is made with differentpress-in regions, which are provided on the printed circuit card,depending on the number of electrical contacts the housing outlet portis equipped with and the position of the electrical contacts in thehousing outlet port.

The cable outlet side of the housing outlet port can be designeddifferently depending on the application. In one possible embodiment,the cable outlet side is provided for making contact with a plug-typeconnector. To this end, the cable outlet side has mechanical connectingmeans, such as, for example, a thread or latching means to which aplug-type connector can mechanically lock. The electrical contacts whichare held in the housing outlet port serve, on the cable outlet side, asplug-type contacts for the plug-type connector.

In a further embodiment, a cable which is directly connected to theelectrical contacts is provided on the cable outlet side of the housingoutlet port. The cable can be routed away from the housing directly,without additional assembly.

A special embodiment provides that the cable outlet side is ofmultipartite design. In this case, the cable outlet side and the housingconnection side are connected to one another such that they can rotate.Therefore, the orientation of the cable outlet side in relation to thehousing can be varied.

The modular housing outlet system according to the invention allowshousings to be equipped with different connection options in a variablemanner. By virtue of a standard connection, which is provided in thehousing, on the printed circuit card, different, pre-configured housingoutlet ports can be connected to the housing in a rapid manner andwithout a great deal of complexity.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An exemplary embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the drawingsand will be explained in greater detail in the text which follows. Inthe drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a housing with a printed circuit card;

FIG. 2 shows a different view of the housing with a printed circuit cardfrom FIG. 1;

FIG. 3a shows a housing outlet port;

FIG. 3b shows a different view of the housing outlet port from FIG. 3 a;

FIG. 4 shows a housing with a housing outlet port;

FIG. 5 shows a modular housing outlet system;

FIG. 6a shows a housing outlet port with a printed circuit card; and

FIG. 6b shows a further housing outlet port with a printed circuit card.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The figures contain partially simplified, schematic illustrations. Insome cases, identical reference symbols are used for elements which aresimilar but may not be identical. Different views of the same elementsmay be drawn to different scales.

FIG. 1 shows a housing 1 of a modular housing outlet system with aprinted circuit card 3. The housing 1 is illustrated such that it isopen at the side in order to allow the interior of the housing 1 to beillustrated. An outlet opening 1.1 is integrally formed in the rearregion, illustrated on the right-hand side, of the housing 1. The outletopening 1.1 is provided for holding a housing outlet port 4 in order toconnect said housing outlet port to the housing 1.

The printed circuit card 3 is provided in the interior of the housing 1.According to the invention, the printed circuit card 3 is arranged infront of the outlet opening 1.1. Two latching means 1.2 which lock andfix the printed circuit card 3 are expediently integrally formed withthe housing 1. The arrangement of the printed circuit card 3 in front ofthe outlet opening 1.1 allows access to the printed circuit card 3through the outlet opening 1.1.

The housing 1 with the printed circuit card 3 is illustrated from afurther view in FIG. 2. The printed circuit card 3 in the housing 1 canbe seen through the outlet opening 1.1. The outlet opening 1.1 isprovided with a circumferential collar 1.3 on the outer side of thehousing 1. Said circumferential collar is provided for holding a housingoutlet port 4 in a more effective and more mechanically stable manner.

A coding 1.4 is additionally integrally formed in the outlet opening1.1. Said coding 1.4 can also be found in a complementary manner on thehousing outlet port 4 as coding 4.4. Rotation of the housing outlet port4 in the outlet opening 1.1 is prevented by the complementary codings1.4 and 4.4.

A housing outlet port 4 is illustrated in FIG. 3a . Said housing outletport has a housing connection side 4.1 and a cable outlet side 4.2. Thehousing connection side 4.1 is illustrated in the rear, right-hand-sideregion in FIG. 3a . The cable outlet side 4.2 can be seen in the front,left-hand-side region.

This embodiment has, on the cable outlet side 4.2, a thread 4.3 whichserves to fasten a plug-type connector by way of a screw connection. Asan alternative, other fastening means for plug-type connectors can alsobe provided here.

A seal 4.6 which is held in a groove as a sealing ring is arranged inthe central region of the cylindrical housing outlet port 4. In thefitted state, the seal 4.6 seals off the gap between the outlet opening1.1 in the housing 1 and the housing outlet port 4.

The coding 4.4 which engages into the coding 1.4 of the outlet opening1.1 in an interlocking manner is provided in the upper region on thehousing connection side 4.1. Rotation of the housing outlet port 4 andthe housing 1 in relation to one another is prevented in this way.

Two opposite latching means 4.5 are provided in the front region on thehousing connection side 4.1. These latching means 4.5 allow the housingoutlet port 4 to be locked in the housing 1. To this end, the latchingmeans 4.5 engage into the housing 1 through the outlet opening 1.1 inthe fitted state and lock on the housing inner side.

Here, five press-in regions 5.1 of electrical contacts 5 extend out ofthe housing outlet port 4 on the end side of the housing connection side4.1. The electrical contacts 5 are held lengthwise in the housing outletport 4. In this exemplary embodiment, the electrical contacts 5 havebeen encapsulated by the housing outlet port 4.

FIG. 3b shows the housing outlet port 4 from FIG. 3a once again, butlooking at the cable outlet side 4.2. In this exemplary embodiment, thecable outlet side 4.2 is provided for making contact with a plug-typeconnector.

The electrical contacts 5 protrude into the cable connection side 4.2 aspin contacts. The cable connection side 4.2 is surrounded by the thread4.3 for the purpose of fixing a plug-type connector.

The housing 1 from FIG. 1 is once again illustrated in the same view inFIG. 4, but without a printed circuit card 3 and with the housing outletport 4 inserted. For this purpose, the housing connection side 4.1 ofthe housing outlet port 4 is inserted into the outlet opening 1.1. Thecollar 1.3 provides a sufficient degree of stability between the housing1 and the housing outlet port 4.

The latching means 4.5 of the housing outlet port 4 engage behind theoutlet opening 1.1 on the inner side of the housing 1. The housingoutlet port 4 is prevented from falling out of the outlet opening 1.1 inthis way.

The electrical contacts 5 can be seen on the end side of the housingconnection side 4.1, which end side is situated in the housing 1. Saidelectrical contacts project into the interior of the housing 1 by way oftheir press-in regions 5.1.

A housing outlet system according to the invention is illustrated inFIG. 5. Said housing outlet system comprises a housing 1 as alreadyshown in the preceding figures and also comprises a printed circuit card3 which is held in said housing. The outlet opening 1.1 for holding ahousing outlet port 4 is provided at the front region of the housing 1.

FIG. 5 further shows a range of four housing outlet ports 4, 4′, 4″, 4′″of differing design. All variants of the housing outlet port 4, 4′, 4″,4′″ have an identical housing connection side 4.1. Said housingconnection side can be held and locked in the outlet opening 1.1 in thehousing 1.

The cable outlet sides 4.2, 4.2′, 4.2″, 4.3′″, however, are of differingdesign. The cable outlet side 4.2 is provided for a four-pole screw- andplug-type connector. The cable outlet side 4.2′ is likewise provided fora screw- and plug-type connector, but with a larger diameter and fivepoles. The same screw- and plug-type connector can be fitted to thecable outlet side 4.2″, but this is provided on the housing outlet port4″ at an angle and such that it can rotate. A cable 6 is directlyconnected to the housing outlet port 4′″ in the cable outlet region4.2′″ and encapsulated by the housing outlet port 4′″.

The large number of press-in zones 3.1 are provided on the printedcircuit card 3 in order to allow the press-in regions 5.1 to makecontact with the different housing outlet ports 4, 4′, 4″, 4′″. Saidpress-in zones are arranged on the printed circuit card 3 such thatpress-in regions 5.1 make contact with different press-in zones 3.1depending on the housing outlet port 4, 4′, 4″, 4′″. Two possibleoperations in which press-in regions 5.1 make contact with press-inzones 3.1 are shown by way of example in FIGS. 6a and 6 b.

FIG. 6a shows the printed circuit card 3 with contact made by thehousing outlet port 4. The printed circuit card 3 has nine press-inzones 3.1 which are provided for making electrical contact and arearranged in three rows of in each case three press-in zones 3.1. Thehousing outlet port 4 accommodates four electrical contacts 5. The fourpress-in regions 5.1 of the electrical contacts 5 make contact with thepress-in zones 3.1 which are respectively situated at the top, at thebottom, on the right-hand side and on the left-hand side. The press-inzones 3.1 in the corners, and also the central press-in zone 3.1 remainfree in the case of this housing outlet port 4.

In FIG. 6b , the housing outlet port 4′ makes contact with the printedcircuit card 3. Since said housing outlet port, as already described inFIG. 6, has five electrical contacts 5, contact has to be made withother press-in zones 3.1 of the printed circuit card 3. In this case,press-in regions 5.1 of the electrical contacts 5 make contact with thepress-in zones 3.1 in the corners and also the central press-in zone3.1.

Therefore, contact can be made with different press-in zones 3.1 on theprinted circuit card 3 depending on design, size and number of contacts.The modular housing outlet system therefore has a particularly highdegree of flexibility and a large number of connection variants.

LIST OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS

1 Housing

1.1 Outlet opening

1.2 Latching means

1.3 Collar

1.4 Coding

3 Printed circuit card

3.1 Press-in zone

4 Housing outlet port

4.1 Housing connection side

4.2 Cable outlet side

4.3 Thread

4.4 Coding

4.5 Latching means

4.6 Seal

5 Electrical contact

5.1 Press-in region

6 Cable

The invention claimed is:
 1. A modular housing outlet system, comprisinga housing with an outlet opening, a printed circuit card which isarranged in the housing and also a housing outlet port, wherein thehousing outlet port having a housing connecting side and a cable outletside, the housing outlet port having a plurality of electrical contactsextending through the housing outlet port the housing connection side tothe cable outlet side, the plurality of electrical contacts are held inthe housing outlet port in a captive manner, the printed circuit cardhas a plurality of bores which are in the form of press-in zones, theprinted circuit card is arranged within the housing in front of theoutlet opening, the press-in zones of the printed circuit card areaccessible through the outlet opening in the housing, the housingconnection side of the housing outlet port is designed such that itcorresponds to the outlet opening in the housing in a form-fittingmanner and can be locked in the outlet opening in the housing, theelectrical contacts form press-in contacts on the housing connectionside of the housing outlet port, and are provided for pressing into atleast one of the press-in zones, wherein the plurality of press-in zonesis greater in number than the plurality of electrical contacts, whereinthe press-in contacts make contact with some of the press-in zones, withother press-in zones being free, depending on the configuration of thehousing outlet port.
 2. The modular housing outlet system as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the cable outlet side of the housing outlet port isdesigned to make contact with and to interlock with a plug-typeconnector.
 3. The modular housing outlet system as claimed in claim 1,wherein on the cable outlet side of the housing outlet port an outgoingcable is provided which is connected to the at least one electricalcontact.
 4. The modular housing outlet system as claimed in claim 2,wherein the housing outlet port is of multipartite design, and the cableoutlet side is provided such that it can rotate in relation to thehousing connection side.
 5. The modular housing outlet system as claimedin claim 3, wherein the housing outlet port is of multipartite design,and the cable outlet side is provided such that it can rotate inrelation to the housing connection side.
 6. The modular housing outletsystem as claimed in claim 1, wherein the printed circuit card is lockedin the housing.
 7. The modular housing outlet system as claimed in claim2, wherein the printed circuit card is locked in the housing.
 8. Themodular housing outlet system as claimed in claim 3, wherein the printedcircuit card is locked in the housing.
 9. The modular housing outletsystem as claimed in claim 4, wherein the printed circuit card is lockedin the housing.
 10. The modular housing outlet system as claimed inclaim 5, wherein the printed circuit card is locked in the housing.